Team lacks energy in loss to Fighting Illini

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- What the IU men's basketball team didn't need in the midst of three games on the road was exactly what they got -- a six-day break that only helped the Hoosiers forget their revitalizing performance during the win at Iowa last Wednesday.\nGone were the huddles between the teammates on the floor, the energetic IU bench and the giddiness the team displayed after beating the Hawkeyes.\nFrom a contagious high to the all-too-familiar low, IU dropped its seventh conference road game to the No. 18 Fighting Illini, 80-54.\n"I thought we got better over the last couple of days until we came into a situation like this," IU coach Mike Davis said. "I told our guys this would be a good chance to know who we are as a basketball team."\nNot that the odds weren't stacked against the road weary Hoosiers (16-10, 6-7 Big Ten) from the tip.\nIllinois hadn't lost a game at home yet this season. Under third year coach Bill Self, Illinois has a 37-1 record in their Assembly Hall.\nAnd in the past two games combined, Illinois (19-5, 9-5) outscored their opponents 143-101, including the complete shutdown of Michigan State, which scored a mere 40 points in the loss.\n"We were as prepared as we could be," senior forward Jeff Newton said about playing in front of a hostile Illinois crowd. "We were ready. I don't know. We just didn't come out."\nIU trailed by nine points at the break but any hope of coming out and regaining the lead was dashed by Illinois in the first four minutes of the second half. The Illini allowed Newton to find the basket a mere 12 seconds to start the half and lessen the lead to seven.\nIllinois answered that basket by scoring nine points on the next four consecutive possessions. The single-digit lead the Illini held was widened to 16 with 16:25 to play in the game. Newton, who was the only Hoosier in double digits with a team-high 11 points, cut short the Illinois scoring run by driving to the basket for two points.\n"We allowed them to jump out on us at the start of the second half, and it just took off from there," Newton said. "We let them jump out on us and it was downhill from there."\nBut IU couldn't slow down the Illini's scoring and with minimal output on offense, the Hoosiers saw the gap in the score stretch to 21 points with just over eight minutes left. IU's woes were worsened by the lack of defense, magnified most by being out-rebounded 41-24. \nThe Fighting Illini continued their attack as their lead soared to as much as 29 points. Sophomore guard Donald Perry sank a three-point shot to end the game for IU.\nThe unstoppable force for Illinois Tuesday night was sophomore forward Roger Powell, who finished with team-high 22 points, 16 of which came in the first half.\n"They just got open looks, and we took bad shots," senior guard Tom Coverdale, who was held scoreless in the second half, said. "We took like four or five bad shots in a row, and it seemed like they didn't miss all night."\nThe Hoosiers made 11-of-27 shots in the first half, but that number diminished to a mere eight field goals out of 25 tries in the second half. Illinois, whose shooting improved in the second half, finished with 55 percent for field goals. \nDespite letting the Illini jump out to a quick four-point lead in the first half, the Hoosiers answered the early baskets by sinking three consecutive three-pointers. The short scoring run gave IU a five-point advantage, a lead they would hold just one other time in the game.\nAfter five lead changes and three ties, the Hoosiers relinquished their grip on the lead to go down by nine going into the half.\nIU gets another shot to pick up a win this Saturday when the team faces Iowa at home. Despite losing at Illinois, the Hoosiers are still optimistic about their postseason chances.\n"We have to bounce back. We have two home games in a row and it's going to be good to be home again," Coverdale said. "We win our next three and we have the same record we had last year. We just have to bounce back. With three games we can win, we have to come out and do it"